Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Does anyone do anything special for St. Patrick's Day?

Last year, friends invited us over for corned beef and cabbage on March 17th. Ungraciously, I spent some time on my soapbox explaining for the 4 millionth time that corned beef is not Irish. The Irish ate boiled bacon (like a ham) and cabbage - not corned beef. Two years before that, one friend brought several bottles of green food coloring to my party to dye the beer! Folks here in the South make key lime pie (which is naturally yellow) and add green food coloring for St. Paddy's Day.

As the keeper of the Irish tradition (my father is actually from Eire), I am again trying to entertain on St Patrick's Day. A friend (knowing about my aversion to New England Boiled Dinner) asked if I would make shepherd's pie. Shepherd's Pie! Traditionally, that's made from leftovers. I am certainly not serving leftovers to my guests!

So, the menu is still taking shape, but so far it's:

First course:
Chilled apple & parsnip soup (after all it is 85F here this time of year, so hot soup isn't so great)

Main course:
Lamb shanks braised in stout
Roasted roots - carrots, rutabagas, turnip, onion, etc.
Colcannon
Soda bread

Dessert:
Apple cake made with hard cider and served with toffee sauce

I wanted to do a seafood dish (cockles & mussels and all that), but the boiled dinner and shepherd's pie lady won't eat anything that comes from the sea.

I'm still struggling for an appetizer. I'm a little unhappy with using apples twice in the meal, although they are very traditional in Irish cooking. And I have no idea about pairing wines with the meal. My Grandmother and aunts just served manhattans with everything.

I'd love ideas to round out my dinner, and wonder if anyone else is doing something for this holiday. Please share.

I'll be getting ready to visit my parents across the state that day, so I won't be doing anything special. Your menu sounds fantastic. I'd serve beer, of course. An Irish Red Ale would be an interesting change of pace from stouts. I'm not sure how it would pair, though. I don't cook lamb enough to have tried it. For dessert you could make a carrageen pudding. It would sneak in some sea veggies, anyway. Though, truthfully I'd eat apples at any course, especially with toffee sauce.

What's in the food is what's in the glass. An old saying about pairing...

I'd go with Stout.

And, your menu sounds lovely. Not a drop of Irish in me, although I'm a Northern European mutt (English, Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian). I'm going to the club on Saturday for a "casino night" fundraiser. I doubt they serve anything as lovely as your menu.

Amy

You have no potatoes! When I was Ireland they served potatoes with everything, including shepard's pie. Maybe you could do stuffed new potatoes or cheddar crackers of some sort. If you don't want to serve beer, you might want to try an Austrian red Like a Zweigelt. It is also a cold weather country with hearty foods and I have had some good ones (don't ask me, I was drinking and don't remember). Love your menu and I think you really have to serve Manhattans as a cocktail to honor your family.

We are going to an English pub where there will be all sorts of gaiety, funny hats, Irish beer. We will probably eat nachos. Fecking brilliant.

Mary

Nice menu. There's some Irish blood in me but not much. Mostly Scotts and Belgium.

I didn't know rutabega was an Irish food. We love it and have it whenever i see it. I don't think it's grown locally, at least I've never seen it at the farmer's market.

It wouldn't be St. Patrick's day for me without a a Guiness. And of course we'll have colcannon and Irish soda bread.
fitzie

Colcannon is potatoes. It's mashed potatoes, cabbage & leeks, covered in lots of melted butter.

I'm not sure where rutabagas originated (maybe Sweden) , but they are a staple in Ireland. They're usually just called 'turnip' or 'yellow turnip'. It's also common in England, Scotland & Wales. In the Isles, it was the original carved jack-o-lantern. In the U.S. we substituted the pumpkin.

I'm not much of a beer drinker, so I hadn't thought of actually serving the stout. Although I like JesB's idea of a red ale for a lighter alternative.

Mary, I still need an appetizer. Do nachos go with manhattans???

What about something seafood? Ireland is home to a lot of it. Aren't there a lot of oysters off the Irish coast? If I'm right, then I'd do something as simple as oysters with mignonette sauce.

Amy

Okay, how about tiny bangers and mash for an appy? You could make little round slices of bangers, pipe on a mashed potato rosette and broil them just before serving. Or is that too English? It seems like it would satisfy the Shepherd's Pie lady with something that she's heard of that sounds "Irishy."

I'd do cheese and crackers....are there Irish cheeses? Maybe even a cheese fondue made with stout.
Edit to add: here's a list of Irish cheeses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Irish_cheeses
We have a sentimental attachment to St. Pat's day, it was the day we got the news (13 yrs ago) that I was pregnant with our first and found out my sister was also pregnant, our boys are 5 days apart. This year we are doing our taxes, so will hold off on the Guiness until after they are done.

Tonight, friends have invited us over for a traditional, if not authentic corned beef and cabbage dinner. Tomorrow we will be braving an Irish pub to hear an authentic Irish troubadour. More Irish-American pub grub likely to accompany.